Modern food and grocery companies face a significant challenge when it comes to customer loyalty in developing economies. Therefore, loyalty programmes have risen to prominence in the marketing mix of merchants in an effort to influence the behavioural and affective commitment of their clientele. This research aims to shed light on the ways in which the psychological and emotional responses customers have towards loyalty programmes, affect their emotional loyalty. Shopper intercept techniques were used to gather primary data from 580 food and grocery retail customers drawn from supermarkets and hypermarkets in the Vijayawada City in Andhra Pradesh to test the hypothesised conceptual framework. The empirical findings of the study revealed that customers’ emotional loyalty is significantly influenced by factors, such as perceived value, trust, commitment, inter-personal interactions, experiences, satisfaction and switching barriers linked with loyalty programmes. The results can inform the creation and assessment of loyalty programmes that try to alter customers’ attitudes and behaviours.